Moldboard supporting and adjusting means for road graders



Mafi'ch 10, 1925. 1,528,906

F. E. ARNDT IOLiSBOAiib SUPPORTING AND ADJUSTING mmns FOR ROAD GRADERSFiled March 18, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwwmto c I March 10. 1925.1,528,906 F; E. ARNDT A MOLDBOARD SUPPORTING AND ADJUSTING MEANS, FORROAD GRADERS Filed March 18, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 10, 1925.

F. E. ARNDT MOLDBOARD SUPPORTING AND ADJUSTING MEANS FOR ROAD GRADERS IGm: wag I Filed March 18, 1 9 24 Z4 4 Sheets-She WIMHHW ii;

March 10, 1925. 1,528,906

F. E. ARNDT I MOLDBOARD SUPPORTING AND ADJUSTING MEANS FOR ROAD GRADERSFiled March 18, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 'a'. 5 s I w Patented Mar. 10,1925.

masses 1 UNITED. STATES PATENT oFF cs.

FRANKLIN E.

ARNDT, OF GALION, OHIO, ASSIGNOR' TO THE GALION IRON VJORKS dz 7 MFG.(30., OF GALION, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

MOLDBOARD SUPIPORTING AND ADJUSTING MEANS FOR- ROAD GRADERS.

Application filed March 18, 1924. Serial No. 700,117..

To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, F RANKLIN E. Anna, a citizen of the UnitedStates,'residing at Galion, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio,have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in MoldboardSupporting and Adjusting Means for Road Graders, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to road graders, and particularly to graders ofthat type wherein a mold board with its blade is mounted upon a circle,and wherein means is provided whereby the angle of the mold board to theline of draft may be adjusted.

One object of this invention is to provide an improved means foradjusting the inclination or angle of the mold board relative to theground, and to provide means which will positively lock the mold boardin any adjusted position, which means, however, may be readily shiftedinto or out of its locking position.

A further object" is to provide a device of thischaracter which iscapable of what may be termed a coarse adjustment and a fine adjustment.g

A still further object is to provide means for rotating the circle in aplane parallel to theground, and provide means for positively lockingthe circle at a plurality of points in any rotatively adjusted positionand thus hold the circle from accidental rotation, and

in this connection to provide manually op'-- erable means for readilyunlocking thecircle and then rotating it to its adjusted position andthenre-locking it. i

Other objects haveto do. with the details of construction andarrangement of parts as will appear more fully hereinafter.

My invention is illustrated in the accomp anying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a road grader constructed inaccordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a top planview of the portion of the road grader illustratedin Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the circle and allied parts, showing thelocking means for the circle, the frame structure mounted above thecircle being removed;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 1+4: of Figure 3;

i ureo is a 00 vi i F g V t lan ew of a oit on of the circle andmoldboard', showing the lockst'ruction shown in Figure 5;

7 -7 of Figure 6;

plate 48 and Figure 7 is an enlarged section on the line Figure 8 is anunder side plan view of the cam 52, the shaft'18 being in section;

Referring to these drawings, and particularly to Figures 1 and 2, itwill be seen that I have illustrated so much of a road grader as ispertinent to my present improvements, this consisting of main,longitudinally extending, somewhat divergent frame beams 10, these framebeams being connected at their forward and rear ends and being arched atthe middle. The forward ends of the frame beams areop'erativelysupported upon a front axle 11, while the rear ends of theframe beams are operatively supported upon the rear axle, the wheels ofwhich are designated 12. A transverse brace 13 is mounted between themiddle of the frame beams and the forward axle 11.

Swingingly mounted upon the forward axle are the rearwardly extendingdraw bars 14, These operatively support the circle 15, this circle beingformed with teeth 16 defining notches between them. The circle isillustrated as operatively supported by brace 17, through which thecentral vertical shaft 18 passes, this central shaft carrying upon itsupper end the beveled gear wheel 19. This transverse brace 17 carries atopposite points the downwardly extending angle iron ears 20. "Below thebrace 17 and extending at right angles thereto is a transverse brace 21which is'preferably of channel iron and which is connected at its endsto upon diametrically opposite points of the circle 15 are the knees 25,the horizontal porand are disposed within the recessed portions 24thereof. There are a pair of these knees on each side of the circle, asshown particularly in Figure 5,. the knees extendtions of which extendbeneath the webs 22 ing downward and slightly forward in a curve, theknees being spaced apart. The knees are held to the webs 22 by means ofbolts 26 which extend down between each pair of knees, the lower ends ofthese bolts carrying clamps 27 and nuts 28 holding these clamps inposition and holding the knees from any movement.

To the lower end of each pair of knees is pivotally mounted the moldboard 29, this mold board carrying a blade 30 of usual character andbeing connected to the knees by means of an angle iron 31 having rivetedor otherwise attached thereto the upwardly extending ear 32, throughwhich the pivot bolt 33 passes. The upper portion of the mold board 29carries upon it the ears 34, and pivoted between these ears is thelooking bar 35 which, as illustrated in Figure 7, is approximatelyT-shaped in cross section and passes between the knees 25. This lockingbar is toothed upon its upper and relatively wide face, as at 36.

For the purpose of holding the mold board locked in any adjustedposition, I detachably and adjustably mount upon each pair of knees 25the U-shaped yokes 37 which carries at its lower end the transverselyextending shaft 38 having mounted thereon the cam 39 having a transversebar 40 at one end which constitutes astop and handle. The cross bar ofthe U-shaped yoke member is provided at its ends with apertures 41 forthe passage of the arms of a U-shaped clamping bolt 42 carrying nuts 43.This clamping bolt embraces both of the knees 25. The cross bar of theUshaped yoke 37 is provided with a downwardly extending lug in the formof a tooth and designated 44 which is adapted to engage in any one ofthe teeth 36.

It will be obvious now, particularly from Figures 6 and 7, that when thecam 39 is turned to the position shown in Figure (5, the locking bar 35will be forced upward and the tooth 44 will be engaged between two ofthe teeth on the locking bar and thus the bar 35 will be held from anylongitudinal movement and the mold board will be held in adjustedposition. hen it is desired to adjust the locking bar, however, the camis forced in the direction of the arrow in Figure 6 to the dotted lineposition in this figure, which depresses the highest portion of the cam,and this permits the locking bar 35 to descend an amount suflicient todetach it from its engagement with the tooth 44 and thus permit the moldboard to be adjusted. When the mold board is adjusted the cam is turnedin the reverse direction to the arrow shown in Figure 6 until the handle40 which constitutes a stop bears against the two legs of the U-shapedlug 37 and the cam is then in position to hold and lock the bar 35 inengagement with the tooth 44. It will be seen that the bar 35 isdisposed between the two knees. Therefore, it is amply supportedagainst-lateral thrust. Inasmuch as the cam is mounted upon the yoke 37,which in turn is held to the knees by means of the U-shaped bolt 42, itfollows that this yoke 37 may be adjusted along the knees to any desiredpoint and then the mold board be shifted inward or outward by hand tochange its angle with relation to the ground and then the cam 39 turnedso as to carry the bar 35 up into its engagement with the locking tooth44 and lock the mold board in adjusted position. Inasmuch as the lockingdevices are independent of each other, it follows that one may beslightly differently adjusted than the other. It will be seen fromFigure 2 that the knees are curved at their forward ends concentricallyto the curvature of the circle 15 and this curvature, of course,inaterially assists in aiding the bolts 26 to hold the knees againstlongitudinal movement under the strain to which the mold board issubjected.

For the purpose of holding the circle 15 in any of its rotatedpositions, I provide, as illustrated best in Figures 3 and 4, thelocking bolts 45 which are mounted imme diately beneath the annularportion 46 of the frame, these locking bolts having shanks 47 whichextend inward and pass through the lugs 20, each shank 47 having at itsend the yoke 48, this yoke being longitudinally slotted, as at 49. Eachyoke at its point of connection to the shank is formed with an angularlybent shoulder or flange 50, and disposed between the bolt 45 and thecorresponding guide lug 20 are the coiled compression springs 51. Eachyoke 48 at its end opposite its point of connection to the shank 47 isangularly bent so as to form a flange 52 extending transversely of thelength of the yoke. The shaft 18 passes through the aligned slots 49 ofthe yoke and through the cross piece 21, as previously described.

Mounted upon the shaft 18 is the elliptical cam 53 which operatesagainst the transverse shoulders or flanges 52. Thus when the cam is inthe position shown in Figure 3, the springs 51 act to pull the shanks 47outward so as to thrust the bolts 45 into the notches between the teethof the circle and thus lock the circle from any rotation. When, however,the cam 53 is turned to the dotted line position in Figure 3, the camwill act to draw the yokes toward each other and thus draw the bolts outof the notches between the teeth and the circle may then be adjusted. Itis to be noted from Figure 8 that each flange 52 is formed at its middlewith a slight depression 54 within which the-nose of the cam engageswhen the cam is in the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, sothat thusthecam is locked against accidental rotation without forcebeing applied to the cam to rotate it.

For the purpose of rotating the ei-rcleand thus rotatingzthe moldboardto any desired angular position relative to;the line of draft, I providethe circle with theLbe-veledgear wheel or toothed annulus155. Coactingwith this toothed annulus '55 is a beveled gear Wl16l56, which is anidlegear wheel, and is mounted in a'bracket .57 carried upon thetransverse brace 21. Coac'ting'with this idlebeveled gear wheel 56 is abeveled gear wheel 59 mounted'in a brace 58. T-shaped in cross section,which extends, between the draw bars 14. This beveled gear wheel 59 ismounted on a shaft. 60. Coacting with the shaft 60 is a tubularsliaftsection 61 which has a universal joint.c,onnection with theshaftsection 60, as at 62.

C'oacting with this tubular shaft section 61 is a shaft section 63 whichhas splined engagement with the shaft section;6land extends upward andforward and has anniversal joint connection at 64. with awsl'iaft 65mounted in bearings 66 and carrying upon it the pinion origear wheel 67.These bearings 66 are mounted upon a plate 68 carried bythe forward endof thesupporting frame. Likewise mounted in;bearings 69 upon thisplate'is a-longitudinally shiftable shaft 70 carrying upon it a; gearwheel 71. This shaft 7 0 is shiftable longitudinally within itsbearingsand atitsrear .end has a universal joint connection 72 tOilrSllCltllllQshaft section '73, in turn having auniversal joint connection 74 to ,arelatively long shaft section ,75 extending rearward and operativelymounted,-asshown in Figure 1,-up0n one ofthe frame beams 10 and providedwith a handle .7 6 whereby the shaft may be longitudinally shifted orrotated.

Rotatably mounted in bearings 77 on the 2 plate 68 is a shaft section 78carrying a gear wheel 79, this .shaft'section 78 being connected by auniversal .joint. connection to .a shaftsection 80 which extendsrearwardand has splined slidingengagement with a telescopic shaftsection 81, the rear end of which has a universal jointconnection at 82to a shaft section 83 mounted in suitable bearings and carrying at itsrear :end a beveled gear wheel 84 which engages with the'bew eled gearwheel 19 carriedon theshaft 18,

this shaft 18 being theshaftwhiehcarries the cam 53 whereby the yokes48and t-h locking bolts 45 are-shifted. I

The shaft 75 constitutes a manually operable :shaft, as will be noted,and may be longitudinally shifted or rotated. Normally the gear wheel71is disposed between and out of mesh with either the gear wheel 67 or thegear wheel 7 9. When, however, the shaft 75 "is drawn rearward, itshifts the pinion 71 into engagement with 'the gear desired adjustedposition. board hasbeen shifted to this position, the r shaft 75 isagain retracted and engaged .wheel 79. Then by a rotation of the shaft75, the elliptical cam 53 will be rotated to the dotted line position inFigure 3, which will retract the lockiiig5bolts a5 and hold themretracted byireason of the extremities of the cam 53 engaging in thedepressions in theflanges 52. If now the shaft'75 be shifted forward soas to carry its gear wheel 71 into engagement with theigear wheel;67, itis obvious that a rotation of the shaft T5rwill cause the rotation ofthe pinions 59 and 56, thus through-the gear wheel 55 rotating thecircle and carrying the moldl'ioard to any After the mold with the gearwheel 71 and rotated so as to carry the cam 53 from its dotted lineposition to its .full line position in Figure 3, which permitsthesprings 51 to then project the'bolts 15 into engagement with the teeth16 on the circle 15. It will thus be seen that the mold board maybeadjusted to any desired position and locked in thisadjusted position.It will also be noted that-when the locking bolts are withdrawn fromengagement withthe circle that they are held withdrawnby reason of theextremities of the camresting in the notches or depressions in thetransverseflanges 51.

I do not wish to be limited to any pan ticular means for supporting thecircle, as

variousmeans such as commonly employed for this purpose may be used, butI have villustratedthe circle as supported at three points, the channeliron bracel'? at its forwa rdend carrying a casting 85 acting as a guidefor the bolt and being recessed at its gives complete command over theposition of the mold board to the operator of the scraper who stands ona platform at the rear endtliereof and permits the unlocking of'the'circle carrying the mold board and itsad ustineiit iiieithertlllGClSlOlltIIld to any extent required whilethe machine is operatingand then permits the relOcking of the mold board in the desiredposition. The construction illustrated in detail in Figure 6 permitstheready adjustment of the mold board into any desired angular relation tothe ground and permits the firm locking of the mold board in thisadjusted position, this locking strain being resisted by the outer endto receive the teeth 16,the brace knees themselves by reason of the factthat the locking device is bolted by the U-bolts 42 to the knees.

\Vhile I have illustrated certain details of construction andarrangement of parts, I do not wish to be limited to this, as it isobvious that'many changes might be made in these details withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim z- 1. A road grader including a supporting frame, a circleoperatively mounted thereon for rotation around a central axis, amoldboard carried upon the circle and oscillating therewith, a lockingdevice mounted upon the supporting frame and held from rotation andnormally engaging the circle. and holding it from rotation, and a singlemeans mounted on the supporting frame whereby the locking device may beunlocked and the circle rotated in either direction.

2. In a road grader, a supporting frame, a circle operatively mountedthereon for rotation around a central axis, the circle having lockingnotches facing toward the center of the circle, a radially disposed boltheld from oscillation with the circle and spring projected toward thenotches of the circle, and manually operable means for retracting thebolt and oscillating the circle.

In a road grader, a supporting frame, a circle operatively mountedthereon for rotation around a central axis, the circle having lockingnotches, diametrically disposed bolts carried by the frame and held fromrotation with the circle and springprojected into notches in saidcircle, manually operable means for simultaneously retracting said boltsincluding a shaft coincident with the axis of said circle and mountedupon said supporting frame, a double cam mounted upon the shaft andoperatively en aging with the bolts to retract them when the cam isturned in one direction, and manually operable means mounted upon thesupporting frame for rotating said cam.

:t. In a road grader, a supporting frame, a circle operatively mountedthereon for rotation around a central axis, the circle having lockingnotches. diametrically disposed bolts mounted on the supporting frameand spring-projected into notches in said circle, slotted yokes on theinner ends of said bolts, the yokes overlapping and the slotscoinciding, a shaft supported by the frame and passing downward throughsaid slots and constituting an axial center around which the circleturns, a cam mounted on the shaft and adapted to engage said yolres toretract the bolts when the cam is turned in one direction and permit theprojection of the bolts when the cam is turned in the other direction,and manually operable means for operating said cam mounted upon the rearend of the supporting frame.

5. In a road grader, a supporting frame, a circle operatively mountedthereon for rotation around a central axis, the circle having lockingnotches, diametrically disposed bolts carried by the supporting frameand spring-projected into notches in said circle, slotted yokes on theinner ends of said bolts, the yokes overlapping and the slotscoinciding, a shaft carried by the supporting frame and passing downwardthrough said slots and constituting an axial center around which thecircle turns, a cam mounted on the shaft and adapted to engage saidyokes to retract the bolts when the cam is turned in one direction andpermit the projection of the bolts when the cam is turned in the otherdirection, and means for rotating said circle comprising a gear wheeloperatively engaging the circle to rotate it, and a single manuallyoperable means for operating said cam and said gear wheel and shiftableinto operative engagement with either said gear wheel or said cam andincluding a manually operable member mounted at the rear end of thesupporting frame.

6. A road grader including a supporting frame, a circle operativelymounted thereon for rotation around a central axis, means for lockingthe circle in any rotated position, a gear wheel carried by the circle,means for releasing said locking means including a central shaft havinga beveled gear wheel, a shaft having a beveled wheel engaging the lastnamel beveled gear wheel and carrying upon it a pinion, a beveled gearwheel engaging the beveled gear wheel on the circle, a shaft carryingthe last named beveled gear wheel and having on it a pinion, alongitudinally shiftable shaft carrying 011 it a pinionadapted to beshifted into engagement with one or the other of said pinions, andmanually operable means at the rear end of the frame whereby said lastnamed pinion may be shifted longitudinally or rotated.

7 A road grader including a supporting frame, draft bars pivotallymounted thereon and extending rearward from the forward end of theframe, a circle operatively mounted upon the draft bars for rotationaround a central point, a vertical shaft disposed at the axis of saidcircle and carrying a beveled gear wheel, said circle having beveledgear teeth and having interi-orly projecting locking teeth, a pair ofslotted yokcs through which the shaft passes, said yolres overlappingeach other and having flanges at their inner ends, a cam mounted uponsaid shaft and coacting with said flanges whereby, when the cam isrotated in one direction, the yokes will be drawn toward each other andwhen rotated in the other direction the yokes will be permitted to moveoutward,

springsurging the'outward movement of the yokes, locking boltsoperatively carried by said yokes and engaging between the teeth ofthecircle, beveled gear wheels operatively engaging the gear wheel on theshaft and the beveled gear teeth on the circle, and manually operablemeans mounted upon the supporting frame whereby the gear wheel may berotated to thereby rotate the shaft and cam or whereby the gear wheelengaged with the circle may be rotated to thereby adjust the circle.

8. A road grader including a wheeled supporting frame, draft barspivotally connected to the forward end of the frame and extendingrearward and downward therefrom, a transverse member mounted upon thedraft bars, a central shaft carried by the transverse member andextending below it, a circle operatively supported upon the draft barsfor rotation. around said shaft, said circle having a series of inwardlyprojecting locking teeth and havingmeans for supporting a mold board, abeveled gear wheel loosely mounted upon the shaft and operativelyconnected to the circle, locking means normally engaged withtheteeth onthe circle but retractible from engagement therewith, means actuated bysaid central shaft for retracting said lockingmeans, a beveled gearwheel operatively engagingthe beveled gear wheel carried by :the circle,means for operating thefirst named shaft to cause the unlocking orlocking of the circle and for operating said lastnamed gear wheel torotate the circle comprising a shaft section having a pinion thereon, aseries of shaft sections flexibly connected to each other andtransmitting motion from said last named shaft section to the beveledgear wheel operating the circle, a shaft section having a pinionthereon, a'series of flexibly connected shaft sections connecting saidlast named shaft section with the central lock operating shaft, meansfor driving said pinions comprising a longitudinally movable shafthaving a pinion thereon, the shaft being shiftable to engage its pinionwith either of the first named pinions, a series of flexibly connectedshaft sections connected to said longitudinally shiftable shaft andextending rearward therefrom, and a. manually operable means mountedupon the rear end of the rearmost shaft section.

9. In a road grader, a circle, knees connected thereto and extendingdownward and rearward therefrom and adapted to support a mold board, thecircle being provided with outwardly projecting webs formed withrecesses on their under faces within which the knees are received, andbolts passing through said webs and having clamping members engagingsaid knees and clamping the knees between the webs and said clampingmembers.

10.. In airoadgrader, a circle, a pair of knees adapted to support amold board, the knees each being composed of a pairof members,;thecircle being provided with outwardly projecting webs recessed upon theirunder faces to receive each a:pair ofsaid members, bolts passing throughthe webs and between said members, and clamps carried by the lower endsof the bolts and engaging against the under faces of said members.

11. In a road grader, a circle, a-pair of knees adapted to support amoldboard, the knees eachbeing composed of a pair of members, the circlebeing provided with outwardly projecting webs recessed upon their underfaces to receive each a pair of said members, bolts passing through thewebsand between said members, and clamps carried by the lower ends ofthe bolts and engaging against the under faces of said members, theforwardends of said knees being curved to conform to the curvature ofthe circle.

12. In a road grader, a pair of knees, a mold boardhingedly connectedztothe lower ends of the knees, .means for holding the mold board inangularly 'adjustedpositions relative to the surface of the groundincludingzlocking bars' pivoted to the .mold board and extendingrearwardtherefrom and past said knees, a locking membernlounted uponeach knee. and coacting with the first named locking member, each ofsaid'members being toothed, andmeans for shifting thelocking bar intoengagement with the first locking member and holding it in its engagedposition.

13. In a road grader, a pair of knees, a mold board hingedly connectedto'thelower ends of the knees, fmeans for holding the mold board inangularly adjusted positions relative to the surface of theground'including locking bars pivoted'to the mold board and extendingrearward therefrom and past said knees,,a'lockingmember mounted uponeach knee and coacting with the first named looking member, eachof saidmembers being toothed, and means for shifting the locking barinto'engagement with the-first locking member and holding it in thisengaged position, comprising a cam operatively supported upon the kneeand in another position permitting the locking bar to shift away fromthe locking member and in the other position holding the locking bar inengagement with the locking member.

14. In a road grader of the character described, a knee, a mold boardpivotally connected adjacent its lower edge to the knee, and means foroaeratively engaging said knee and adjustable to hold the mold board inany one of a plurality of positions angular to the face of the road.

15. In a road grader, a knee comprising two parallel members, a moldboard pivot- T adapted to engage, a cam operatively supported upon theknee and having its peripheral face engageable with the locking bar,said cam being rotatable to a position to release the locking bar fromengagement with the locking member or into position to engage thelocking bar with the locking member.

16. In a road grader, a knee comprising two parallel members, a moldboard pivotally connected adjacent its lower edge to the lower end ofthe knee, a locking bar pivoted to the mold board and extending betweensaid members and having teeth on its upper face, a yoke mounted upon theknee and formed to provide a locking member confronting the teeth onsaid bar; a cam rotatably mounted in this yoke and having a. peripheralbearing against the lower edge of the locking bar, the cam beingrotatable to thereby cause the locking bar to move into lockingengagement with the tooth on the yoke or out of locking engagementtherewith.

17. In a road grader, a curved knee, a mold board pivotally connected tothe lower end of the knee, a locking bar pivotally connected to thelower portion of the mold board and extending rearward therefrom andpast said knee, a U-shaped yoke disposed against the rear edge face ofthe knee, means for adjustably clamping said yoke upon the knee, thelocking bar passbar and having an edge bearing against the under face ofthe locking bar, said cam when rotated in one direction shifting thelocking bar into engagement with the tooth on the yoke and when shiftedin the other direction permitting the locking bar to lower away fromsaid tooth.

18. In a road grader, a curved knee, a mold board pivotally connected tothe lower end of the knee, a locking bar pivotally connected to thelower portion of the mold board and extending rearward therefrom andpast said knee, a U-shaped yoke disposed against the rear edge face ofthe knee, means for adjustably clamping said yoke upon the knee, thelocking bar passing between the legs of the yoke and the yoke beingformed with a tooth confronting the teeth on the locking bar, and a cammounted upon the lower end of the locking bar and having an edge bearingagainst the under face of the locking bar, said cam when rotated in onedirection shifting the locking bar into engagement with the tooth on theyoke and when shifted in the other direction permitting the locking barto lower away from said tooth, the cam having a stop adapted to bearagainst the legs of the yoke and limiting the movement of the cam inopposite directions.

19. In a road grader, a knee composed of two spaced parallel members, amold board pivotally connected to the lower end of the knee, a lockingbar pivotally connected to the upper portion of said mold board andextending between said members and the knee having its upper facetoothed, a U shaped yoke disposed against the rear edge of the knee andhaving a locking tooth, a U-shaped clamping bolt passing around both themembers and through the upper end of said yoke, the locking bar passingbetween the legs of the yoke, and a cam rotatably mounted between thelower ends of the legs of the yoke and having an edge bearing againstthe lower edge of said locking bar, said cam when rotated in onedirection shifting the locking bar into engagementwith said lockingmember on the yoke and in the other direction releasing said lockingbar.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

FRANKLIN n. ARNDT.

